What soapy thing have you done today?

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Actually yesterday, I dropped off gift baskets for the staff at the retirement village where my father and his wife live. I'm still building up my soap inventory but made 50 lotion bars and 65 lip balms. They've got big jobs and not enough staff and do everything with a smile and professionalism.

Tomorrow is Christmas and the first day of Hanukah so merry merry to all who celebrate. And to everyone, best wishes for a happy, healthy New Year -- and remember to wash your hands!
I might be mistaken or do I see my name on one of those lotion bars and lip balm. :D
 
I noticed that my 55% Shea butter bar that I made Sunday is REALLY hard. It's as hard as my 6 week cured lard bars! I washed my hands with an end piece out of curiosity, as I didn't expect it to lather well with the high Shea content. It lathers amazingly! So many big bubbles! It's only 3 days old and I don't usually test this early. I can't wait to test it after a good cure time.
 
I did my first rebatch today. I crock pot rebatched my patchouli bacon soap and colored it with activated charcoal to cover the bacony-ness. I decided I really, really don't like crock pot rebatching. I would have tried doing it in the oven, but my oven's broken right now. I'm pretty sure the bars will be a bit shriveled and deformed from too much water, but at least it doesn't look like bacon now! And I've been wanting to make a charcoal soap, so it was a good opportunity. Definitely a good learning experience, and I'm grateful that this is the first loaf I've had to rebatch. It's only my 2nd failed loaf in almost 4 years! I'm very happy about that.
 
I did my first rebatch today. I crock pot rebatched my patchouli bacon soap and colored it with activated charcoal to cover the bacony-ness. I decided I really, really don't like crock pot rebatching. I would have tried doing it in the oven, but my oven's broken right now. I'm pretty sure the bars will be a bit shriveled and deformed from too much water, but at least it doesn't look like bacon now! And I've been wanting to make a charcoal soap, so it was a good opportunity. Definitely a good learning experience, and I'm grateful that this is the first loaf I've had to rebatch. It's only my 2nd failed loaf in almost 4 years! I'm very happy about that.
But I thought everything was better with bacon?
 
But I thought everything was better with bacon?
Funny thing. When I was a kid, my dad wanted to make cold process soap. He had us save all of the kitchen drippings (bacon, ground beef, excess vegetable oil....) in a big coffee can. When it was full, we followed a YouTube video and made soap out of it. Without cleaning the fat or trying to figure out SAP values. I think we used a huge amount of water, too. We mixed the lye in a crunchy plastic container which then warped and almost melted from the heat. We added pink mica from a melt and pour kit that promptly morphed into a pinky brown color. Then we poured in a bunch of ground cinnamon to hopefully make it smell good. (Shocker, it didn't!) It was such a huge batch that I think we cut 30+ bars. They warped so much as they cured that they were u-shaped on top. They didn't lather, and they smelled very much like rancid bacon with gritty cinnamon. And we had to use them for so many months until he got sick of them and bought regular soap again. We never used it all up, and friends we gave it to never asked for more. 😂 Ever since that first batch, the idea of anything "bacon" and "soap" together kinda makes me shudder. 🤣
 
Funny thing. When I was a kid, my dad wanted to make cold process soap. He had us save all of the kitchen drippings (bacon, ground beef, excess vegetable oil....) in a big coffee can. When it was full, we followed a YouTube video and made soap out of it. Without cleaning the fat or trying to figure out SAP values. I think we used a huge amount of water, too. We mixed the lye in a crunchy plastic container which then warped and almost melted from the heat. We added pink mica from a melt and pour kit that promptly morphed into a pinky brown color. Then we poured in a bunch of ground cinnamon to hopefully make it smell good. (Shocker, it didn't!) It was such a huge batch that I think we cut 30+ bars. They warped so much as they cured that they were u-shaped on top. They didn't lather, and they smelled very much like rancid bacon with gritty cinnamon. And we had to use them for so many months until he got sick of them and bought regular soap again. We never used it all up, and friends we gave it to never asked for more. 😂 Ever since that first batch, the idea of anything "bacon" and "soap" together kinda makes me shudder. 🤣
That is hysterical!!! 🧼 😭 🥓 I’m sure that cinnamon added to the lovely color! 🐷
 
What does oud smell like?
I smelled it over the holiday and my brain added it to the cart. Here's what CA Candle Supply says about it:

Oud is a unique fragrance that features sweet woody and aromatic notes of leather, amber and musk. The top notes are warm and balsamic, leading into middle notes of rose for added depth. The base notes are sweet and earthy musk, giving the aroma a luxurious and captivating quality.
 
Funny thing. When I was a kid, my dad wanted to make cold process soap. He had us save all of the kitchen drippings (bacon, ground beef, excess vegetable oil....) in a big coffee can. When it was full, we followed a YouTube video and made soap out of it. Without cleaning the fat or trying to figure out SAP values. I think we used a huge amount of water, too. We mixed the lye in a crunchy plastic container which then warped and almost melted from the heat. We added pink mica from a melt and pour kit that promptly morphed into a pinky brown color. Then we poured in a bunch of ground cinnamon to hopefully make it smell good. (Shocker, it didn't!) It was such a huge batch that I think we cut 30+ bars. They warped so much as they cured that they were u-shaped on top. They didn't lather, and they smelled very much like rancid bacon with gritty cinnamon. And we had to use them for so many months until he got sick of them and bought regular soap again. We never used it all up, and friends we gave it to never asked for more. 😂 Ever since that first batch, the idea of anything "bacon" and "soap" together kinda makes me shudder. 🤣
When I was a kid my mom made “lye soap” when we butchered a pig. I’m sure it was straight lard and probably lye heavy. I don’t remember a lot about it except that it was harsh. This was way before the internet, probably late 70’s. I have no idea where she got the recipe, maybe at the library. The story isn’t nearly as good as yours but the experience sure left an impression.
 
I smelled it over the holiday and my brain added it to the cart. Here's what CA Candle Supply says about it:

Oud is a unique fragrance that features sweet woody and aromatic notes of leather, amber and musk. The top notes are warm and balsamic, leading into middle notes of rose for added depth. The base notes are sweet and earthy musk, giving the aroma a luxurious and captivating quality.
That sounds lovely.
 
I decorate my soaps with mica powder and stem them after cure. I just started steaming them and notice the mica doesn’t wash off as quickly. Anyone have any ideas about when steaming takes place to be most effective? Duck is non steamed, snowman steamed after cure View attachment 80099
How did I miss these?! They are gorgeous!

It took a little while, but I'm now officially caught up on the last 3-4 pages of this thread. Does that count as soapy?
 
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